Heremites vittatus

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Scincomorpha

Familia: Mabuyidae
Subfamilia: Mabuyinae
Genus: Heremites
Species: Heremites vittatus
Name

Heremites vittatus (Olivier, 1804)

Holotype: ?.

Type locality: “sands west of Rosetta”, Egypt.
Combinations

Scincus vittatus Olivier, 1804: 58 [original combination]
Heremites vittatus — Gray, 1845: 110 [subsequent combination]
Euprepes vittatus — Peters, 1864 [subsequent combination]
Mabuia vittata — Boulenger, 1887: 176 [subsequent combination]
Eutropis vittata — Mausfeld et al., 2002: 290 [subsequent combination]
Trachylepis vittata — Bauer, 2003: 5 [subsequent combination]

Synonyms

Euprepes olivieri Duméril & Bibron, 1839: 674
Euprepes (Euprepis) libanoticus Peters, 1864: 51
Eurprepes tomardi Hemprinch & Ehrenberg in Tornier, 1899

References
Primary references

Olivier G.-A. 1804. Voyage dans l’Empire Othoman, l’Egypte et la Perse. Agasse 2: 58.
Duméril, A.M.C. and Bibron, G. 1839. Erpétologie Générale on Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Vol.5. Roret/Fain et Thunot: Paris. 871 pp.
Peters, W.C.H. 1864. Die Eidechsenfamilie der Scincoiden, insbesondere über die Schneider'schen, Wiegmann'schen und neue Arten des zoologischen Museums. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussische Akademie des Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1864: 44–58.
Tornier, G. 1899. Reptilia. In: Carlgren ,O., Hilgendorf, F., Martens, E. von, Matschie, P., Tornier, G. & Weltner, W. (eds.). Symbolae physicae seu icones adhuc ineditae corporum naturalium novorum aut minus cognitorum quae ex itineribus per Libyam, Aegyptum, Nubiam. G. Reimer: Berlin.

Additional references

Boulenger, G.A. 1887. Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History) Second edition. Volume 3. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. Printed by Order of the Trustees: London. XII + 575 pp., pls I–XL. BHL Reference page.
Budack, A. 1973. A study on the individual and geographic variation of Mabuya vittata (Scincidae, Lacertilia) in Turkey. Sci. Rep. Fac. Sci. Ege Univ. Izmir 214: 1–59.
Mausfeld, P., Schmitz, A., Böhme, W., Misof, B., Vrcibradic, D. & Rocha, C.F.D. 2002. Phylogenetic Affinities of Mabuya atlantica Schmidt, 1945, Endemic to the Atlantic Ocean Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil): Necessity of Partitioning the Genus Mabuya Fitzinger, 1826 (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Zoologischer Anzeiger 241(3): 281–293. DOI: 10.1078/0044-5231-00081 Reference page.
Bauer, A.M. 2003. On the identity of Lacerta punctata Linnaeus, 1758, the type species of the genus Euprepis Wagler, 1830, and the generic assignment of Afro-Malagasy skinks. African Journal of Herpetology 52 :1-7. DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2003.9635472
Karin, B.R., Metallinou, M., Weinell, J.L., Jackman, T.R. & Bauer, A.M. 2016. Resolving the higher-order phylogenetic relationships of the circumtropical Mabuya group (Squamata: Scincidae): An out-of-Asia diversification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102: 220–232. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.033 Reference page.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2021. Heremites vittatus. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 9 April 2019.
Böhme, W., Mateo, J.A., Joger, U., Slimani, T., El Mouden, E.H., Geniez, P., Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Nouira, M.S., Baha El Din, S., Lymberakis, P., Kaska, Y., Kumlutaş, Y., Kaya, U., Avci, A., Üzüm, N., Yeniyurt, C. & Akarsu, F. 2017. IUCN: Heremites vittatus (Least Concern) (amended version of 2009 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T61586A120691593. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61586A120691593.en

Vernacular names
English: Bridled Skink

Ελληνικά, Κυπριακά: Μαπούγια η ταινιοφόρος

The bridled mabuya or bridled skink (Heremites vittatus) is a species of skinks found in North Africa and Middle East. The length of those skinks is up to 22 cm.

The binomial name of this species has seen multiple updates in early 2000. The current binomial name is Heremites vittatus. Previously it was known as Mabuya vittata and for short period as Eutropis vittata and Trachylepis vittata . The reason for those changes is an attempt to divide the vast genus Mabuya in a few smaller genera.

The bridled mabuya lives in open sandy or stony soil with little grass or bushy vegetation. It is usually found near water; in Egypt in the Wetlands and near oases in Tunisia. It can grow up to 22 centimeters long and has a smooth, shiny, body with overlapping scales. Their heads are cone shaped and they have elongated bodies and a tapering tail that is easily broken but can be regenerated.

The bridled mabuya feeds primarily on insects and other arthropods.
References

Böhme, W., Mateo, J.A., Joger, U., Slimani, T., El Mouden, E.H., Geniez, P., Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Nouira, M.S., Baha El Din, S., Lymberakis, P., Kaska, Y., Kumlutaş, Y., Kaya, U., Avci, A., Üzüm, N., Yeniyurt, C. & Akarsu, F. 2017. Heremites vittatus (amended version of 2009 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T61586A120691593. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T61586A120691593.en. Downloaded on 15 April 2020.

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